Who:
Victoria Solbert
Member
Where:
Hanover, NH
Saturday began rather early, right at 12:01 a.m. More accurately, my 24-hour experience started at 2 p.m. the day before, as I set off with three friends from Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., on my way to the Moosilauke Ravine lodge 53.6 miles away -- on foot.
Dartmouth College owns and maintains 75 miles of the Appalachian Trail, and the students maintain a tradition of hiking the 50-mile section from Hanover to Mount Moosilauke every year, all in one go. I set off with my group at 2 p.m. with a full Camelback and a few energy bars on my back. Twenty-two and a half hours, 12 liters of water, 5 support stations, 5 summits, and 53.6 miles later I arrived at the lodge after one of the most amazing adventures of my life.
Watching the sunset from Smarts Mountain, counting shooting stars on the summit of Mount Cube, sunrise over Mount Mist, and finally looking out over the countryside from the top of Mount Moosilauke on a clear morning were experiences that no words or photographs can capture.
The Dartmouth Outing Club has worked to "stimulate interest in the out-of-doors" since 1909. As I stood atop the final mountain, legs aching yet mind strangely clear, I fully understood the importance of a college education not limited to the classroom. There is so much to be learned from not just enjoying nature, but living it. After 30 miles, when the group banter has died and your mind has run out of worries to run circles around, all that is left is you and your aching feet, the earth, rocks, trees, and the quiet sounds of the forest.
To have experienced 24 hours of the woods and pushed the limits of your body; that is an education.
